Hidden Flame
by Pyra Kurai Akaidra
Summary: In during a mission, Kyuubi's forced to use a technique to save Naruto. Now living as Takuya, is he willing to go back to his old life or not? Will it be Kouji or Sasuke that'll win his heart? AU. Digimon and Naruto crossover. Shounen Ai.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Hidden Flames

**Summary**: During a mission, Kyuubi's forced to use a technique to save Naruto. Now he's living as Takuya, is he willing to go back to his old life or not? Will it be Kouji or Sasuke that'll win his heart? AU, Digimon and Naruto crossover

**Pairings:** _Sasuke/Kouji_ _x Takuya_ (on-going poll), _Kouichi x Izumi_

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is owned by Bandai/Toei and Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. This crossover was inspired by talking with _Firehedgehog_ and the fanfiction itself is owned by Pyra Kurai Akaidra.

**Note**: Will be using the 'surname + given name' form.

**EDITS**: Reformatted and fixed up mistakes.

* * *

**Prologue**

Uzumaki Naruto struggled onto his feet as he faced the giant snake. The blond shinobi and his fellow Chuunin, Uchiha Sasuke, were hired to investigate the sighting of a strange snake in the forest.

Speaking of Sasuke, the Uchiha was staring at the serpent, avoiding its eyes, looking for a weakness to exploit. It's been a year since Naruto dragged Sasuke back to Konoha, and things almost went back to normal.

It took quite some time before Sasuke earned back the trust in him; also, grudgingly or not, Naruto was given more respect at his return.

The snake hissed; its yellow eyes stared at the two shinobi. It can easily camouflage itself if the strange vivid purple patterns on its body don't give its position away. Besides its colouring, the only thing that's special about the serpent is control growth. The snake can grow and shrunk if it pleases, making it a tricky opponent to deal with.

"Let's do it, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, receiving a nod from the Uchiha. Then, Naruto form the hand seal to one of his infamous technique.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Producing nine clones, all ten of them, including the real Naruto, leaped onto the now seven foot tall serpent, holding it down. The snake hissed in angered and bite the real Naruto's right arm, whether by pure luck or not, the serpent injected its poison into the blond.

"_Arg_!" The vessel of Kyuubi cried out in pain, but he holds onto the snake, trying his best to ignore the pain the poison make, as it slowly spread out from his arm.

"Naruto!" Sasuke cried out, fearing for his friend's, and secret crush's, life.

-----

From within Naruto's body, the infamous nine-tailed demon, Kyuubi, growled in irritation from inside his prison.

"What kind of poison is this?!" Kyuubi growled. The demon can normally heal his host from minor injuries and non-fatal poisons. The serpent's poison, however, was different. Looking through Naruto's eyes, the youko saw the snake's eyes glow and a white spot appeared on the serpent's head, making him snarl in anger. "Grrr, a blasted Basilisk!"

To say Kyuubi disliked the Basilisk, greatest of all serpents, is the understatement of the century. There's no exact word that can describe his hatred towards the basilisks.

This basilisk in particular, has special poison that can absorb the life out of a creature, even a demon, slowly; if an antidote, which is hard to find, isn't given in time, even the greatest can fall before it and often drove the most stoic into madness.

-----

Ignoring the growing pain in his arm, Naruto and his clones get into position to execute one of their techniques.

Then, four clones slide towards the (though they didn't know yet) basilisk, and kicked it high in the air with all their strength (the serpent is quite heavy). Naruto jumped off from a clone's back into the air and position himself to kick the basilisk.

"Uzumaki Naruto Rengen!"

After sending the serpent falling down towards the ground, just before the basilisk landed, the clones slowly disappear in puff of smokes. Naruto winced, but quickly moved out of the way for Sasuke.

The Uchiha move his hands to form some hand seals, concentrating his chakra before he breathed out multiple fireballs.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

The basilisk hissed in pain; sure it's cold-blooded creature and need heat to survive, but too much heat can roast it alive.

"You may have defeated me, vessssel! But my poissssson will take affect in your body!" The basilisk hissed out, but only the blond shinobi can understand the serpent, having a demon who hates the basilisk helps in communication. The basilisk lay down its head and closes its eyes, now officially dead.

As the basilisk promised, just after the serpent died, the pain suddenly increased, causing Naruto to grab his injured arm and feel down to his knees, causing the blonde to cry out in pain. "_Ahh_!"

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Sasuke asked, as he kneeled down beside Naruto. Despite his attitude, the raven-hair shinobi's feelings for the blond have changed from plain rivals to something more, much more.

"Sasuke..." Naruto managed to said, before another sudden increased of pain appears and his life slowly beginning to drained.

'_Hey, kit. You better owe me for this._' Kyuubi said to Naruto, mentally.

The youko quickly took control of the body, much to his host's protest. The Naruto's blue eyes turn crimson and the whisker scars sharpen, as well his hands grow claws and fangs in his mouth.

"Naruto?" Sasuke clearly recognised those features, especially during the Chuunin Exams.

The now foxed Naruto moved his hands to form hand seals so fast that Sasuke's Sharingan couldn't even copy them.

"Kinjutsu: Tensei no Jutsu." Kyuubi said through Naruto's mouth.

"Dobe, what are you doing?!"

The foxed shinobi looked at the Uchiha, as he was slowly surrounded by red lights, which was steadily faded into white.

"Tell Tsunade that she have permission to tell you about it." Kyuubi said to Sasuke.

"Tell me about what? _Naruto_!" Sasuke shouted, when the foxed shinobi was completely surrounded by white light. When the lights fade, Uzumarki Naruto was gone.

-----

A brunet boy sat up suddenly in his bed, breathing heavily as he wipes his forehead.

_That dream again, what does it mean?_ The brunet thought, before lying down and went back to sleep.

Deep inside the boy, a certain demon watched the brunet, no longer sealed inside a prison, due to the demonic technique. However, he held no interest in a rampage right now.

'_All your memories will return, kit_.' Kyuubi murmured, as he watched the boy turned over to one side. '_For now, I'll wait until that time comes, Kanbara Takuya_.'

**To be continued...**

_Author's Note_: I stand by my reasoning for using a Basilisk, it is better then creating a random ninja to take out Naruto. Also, just renamed the reincarnation technique; if there's a better suggestion, I'm open for them. Reviews and constructive criticisms accepted, as per usual.


	2. Of Dreams and Truth

Last time, relieving Naruto of future eternal pain, Kyuubi reincarnated his host into another person...

**Disclaimer:** Digimon was owned by Bandai/Toei and Naruto was owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**EDITS:** Reformatting and fixing up old mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Of Truth and Dreams

It was night time at the Kanbara residence and Takuya, once again, was having yet another dream. This dream in particular, is seem to be leaning towards being a strange one, one that caught the attention of a certain fox demon.

'_What bothers kit this time?'_ Kyuubi muttered to himself, before looking into Takuya's mind and saw the dream. '_Of all the things he has to dream about, it GOT to be this one?!'_

-----

_Takuya found himself in a body of a seven year old boy in a park, watching several kids playing. He felt his body moved on its own towards the kids._

"_Hey, can I play?" The Child of Flame found himself asking._

"_Sorry, but I can't since Mum told me." A boy answered, Takuya feel a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling of loneliness and an urge for recognition._

_Suddenly, the kids' mothers appeared and dragged their children away from Takuya, while glaring at him._

"_Stay away from him, he's a bad influence!"_

"_Don't get mixed up with his sort."_

"_He's a bad boy and don't be friends with him!"_

_The body of the boy Takuya's in hold back his tears and runs off. Takuya watches from inside, as the boy run through the streets, and saw the cold glares the adults gave him._

'_What have I done?' Takuya thought, he had done nothing bad to cause others to hate him, does he?_

_Unknown to Takuya, Kyuubi has entered the dream and was watching him._

'I should help kit, beside; it's been a while since I have fun.' _The fox demon muttered, before smirking. Behind Takuya's back, Kyuubi appears before the dreamed people, who screams and runs off in fright._

"_What?" Takuya turned around to see what's going on. Kyuubi quickly hides; Takuya isn't ready to see him yet._

_Looking around, the Child of Flame is confused why everyone runs off as if there's a demon nearby. He scratched his head, bemused._

_Away from Takuya, Kyuubi was laughing with amusement, at the reactions the dreamed humans gave when they see him. The demon needs a laugh once in a while, after all. The nine-tailed demon turns to check on Takuya, who saw a very familiar food stand._

"_Woohoo, ramen!"_ _Takuya run towards the ramen stand called Ichiraku, and sit down on one of the seats._

'Even reincarnation doesn't change his favourite food_.' Kyuubi muttered to himself, watching his host eating a bowl of ramen. 'Hmm…wonder if the old hag tells them?'_

_With a host like Naruto in the previous life, it tends to rubbed off on the demon, whether Kyuubi like it or not._

-----

Speaking of the said 'old hag', the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, was busy in her office...

"Godaime-sama!" There was someone knocking the door, waking Tsunade up.

...Sleeping on top of some paper works if it weren't for the person outside the door, waking her up from her well-deserved nap.

"Come in," The Godaime replied, feeling _very_ cranky.

Uchiha Sasuke opened the door and closed it behind him, before facing the busty Hokage with a look of urgency, confusion and…concern?

"Godaime-sama, it's about Naruto." Sasuke began, waking up Tsunade completely and getting her attention.

"Naruto?! What happen!?" Tsunade asked; more like ordered, concerned about Konoha Number #1 Loudest Ninja, whom she thought as a younger brother to her.

The Uchiha found himself explaining the battle with the basilisk, Naruto's sudden change and the strange technique Sasuke couldn't copied with his Sharingan.

"…And his asked me to tell you he gives permission to tell me about something." Sasuke said, recounting the memory. "That is before the technique he used take affect."

Tsunade was listening to the story, before looking at the raven-hair shinobi, asking. "Do you recall what the technique was called?"

"Kinjutsu: Tensei no jutsu." Sasuke replied, making Tsunade's eyes widen a bit.

'I was wondering why Kyuubi haven't used it earlier when Naruto's young.' Tsunade thought, before considering her options.

"Sasuke..." The medical Hokage began. "Naruto is not dead, in soul actually."

"What?" Sasuke looked at Tsunade in surprised. Naruto isn't dead how?

"Have you ever wondered about the times when you sense and see Naruto using foreign chakra?" The Godaime Hokage asked, receiving a nod. "Well, it's because 14 years ago, the fox demon, Kyuubi, attacked Konoha and was not killed by Yondaime, but sealed away in a boy infant. The infant is Naruto."

If Sasuke have a different personality, he would probably he gaping at Tsunade. But instead, the raven-hair was in deep thought, about almost everything about Naruto that make sense. The villagers' cold stares, the strange red chakra, and most of all, why Akatsuki wants Naruto.

Tsunade give Sasuke some time to absorb the information, before continuing. "As for the technique…"

That quickly got the Uchiha's attention, Sasuke look up at the Godaime, anxious for the answer.

"I heard it's a forbidden technique only demons can perform, if they're done with their life and move onto the next. This help with the demon's soul, keeping it safe during the travel to the next life. I'm not sure about Naruto's case, whether his memories are in tact or not is unconfirmed."

"You mean there's no chance of getting Naruto's back?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice as normal as possible.

"Slim, the reincarnation varies in time, place and possibly, gender." Tsunade answered.

Were her eyes tricking her or does she saw the Uchiha's shoulder lowered a bit?

As if Tsunade could read minds and know what question Sasuke is going to ask, the blonde woman said. "Naruto want to earn your respect and acknowledgement first before telling himself when the times right."

There was a small silence as Sasuke absorb that, until the Godaime spoked up after a while.

"You may go now, Sasuke."

Nodding silently, the Uchiha walked out, bit down, though he never shows it.

Little did he know about what will be going to happen in the future, which involved a certain loudmouth vessel he knows and secretly love...

**To be continued...**

_Author's Note:_ If Sasuke's out of character, let me know. Characters like him, especially canon characters, aren't my field of expertise, so I'm willing to listen to what you've thought.


	3. Thoughts

Last time, Sasuke was told the truth about Naruto, and the possibility that he might still be alive...

**Disclaimer:** Pyra Kurai Akaidra doesn't own Naruto or Digimon, merely this fanfiction.

**EDITS:** Once again, reformatting and fixing mistakes.

* * *

**Chapter 2:** Thoughts

It's been five years since the Chosen Children defeated Lucemon. During that time, they still kept in touch, through middle school all the way to high school, or in Tomoki's case, primary to middle school.

Himi Tomoki has gotten over his bullies problems by the time he finished primary school, and his self-esteem has noticeably grown, too. The Chosen of Ice often can be seen hanging out with Shinya, Takuya's younger brother.

The Chosen of Thunder, Shibayama Junpei, was changed, too, physically. He still looks big, but no longer considered fat, but rather 'muscular'. He has lost his weight in a good, healthy way. But that doesn't stop him from having his favourite bar of chocolate now and then. He also has gotten over his crush on Izumi, too, which will be explained below.

Orimoto Izumi has matured too, not only mentally but physically, and already earning looks from male students in their school. But they knew better, for she's currently dating Kouichi. Who would've known? But she constantly says it's only friendly and nothing more.

Kimura Kouichi, the Chosen of Darkness, was still close to Kouji, as expected of the twins, and gotten to know Kouji's side of the family better, too. He's dating Izumi, as mentioned above, but like the Chosen of Wind, he said it's friendly. His brother knew better.

Kanbara Takuya was more or less still the same, though more mature, but he still can be stubborn. Though, the goggle-boy sometime can be very cheeky in certain ways (as in, pranks much to Kyuubi's mixed feelings of amusement and exasperation, not that the group and Takuya know).

But that doesn't stop him from being so endearing...

Wait a minute, _endearing_?

Minamoto Kouji blinked and shook his head, while sitting under a tree. He keeps on having these thoughts about his best friend and somehow, the word 'endearing' came up, as well as other similar words one can find in a thesaurus, afterward.

Ever since their adventure finished, Kouji feel strange around the Chosen of Flame as they spend more time together. He has an idea what it might be, but was afraid to admit it to himself...or even to Takuya. What was he expecting when he say those words? Reciprocation, perhaps or maybe, he dreaded this reaction, rejection?

He stood up and walked off, while thinking, letting his feet leads him to where ever they like.

_This feeling, is it really...?_

-----

In a local park, far away from the public areas, the said subject of Kouji's thoughts was fighting invisible enemies.

Kyuubi watched on, unnoticed by his host. Takuya developed an interest in martial arts some time after the adventure in Digital World. The goggle-boy's parents enrolled him into a nearby dojo, but his distinctive style and near inexhaustible stamina (at this, the fox demon nearly whistled innocently when the dojo masters told the Kanbara about it) proved quite a challenge to adapted into the dojo's fighting style.

Kyuubi's musing distracted him just long enough for Takuya to went nearer and nearer to a lake...

Faintly and just barely there transparent blue energy covered the soles of the brunet's shoes, as he stood at the lake's edge before he, still focussed in his training, ended up _standing_ on the water's surface.

"...Takuya?"

'_Oh shit.'_ Kyuubi thought, before he quickly cut off the chakra leading down to his host's feet, in time with Takuya's startled mind.

-----

Kouji stopped, he find himself at Takuya's favourite training spot by the lake and watched his closest friend trained.

The Chosen of Light took note of few things, like the raw and wild potential in the Chosen of Flame's fighting style to Takuya's hair.

Ever since their Digital World adventure, Takuya's cinnamon brown hair have change to golden brown and even more wild. The change was gradual and his friends didn't notice until Izumi pointed it out while looking at photographs they've taken between then and now. Course, he's still endearing to Kouji, that fact wasn't lost to the rest of the gang (except for Takuya), and look much hotter...

The pony-tailed boy quickly pushes that thought out before it even finish its own sentence, when he saw Takuya standing _on_ the water's surface.

"...Takuya?"

_Splash_

"What the...! Don't surprise me like that, Kouji!" Takuya exclaimed with a pout, getting on his feet, drawing out his friend's name. It's good thing for him that he's at the shallow end. If not, he would be even wetter if he lose concentration and fell into the deeper end.

"Sorry, Takuya," Kouji apologised, mentally trying not to melt at the look of his crush's face. But he's curious, how can Takuya do that? No, not the cute factor (the goggle-boy prefer 'cool' or 'hot' then that), but walking on water part.

"Hey, Takuya..."

"Oi, Kouji! Now that you're here, I want to show you a new move I've made!" Takuya exclaimed with a grin, looking at the other Chosen expectedly.

"Sure." He'll ask him afterward.

"Alright!"

-----

Onyx eyes stared out into the distance, as if sensing something, not really focussing on anything but his thoughts.

'_Naruto..._'

It's been two years since Naruto's 'death' and him finding out about his 'guest'. Out of all of Konoha, only Naruto's friends and comrades among the original Rookie Nine, Team Gai, Ichiraku's owner and his daughter, and some adults, particularly Umino Iruka, was affected by his absence. Few who know about Kyuubi and trusted enough was told by Tsunade herself of the situation.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura's voice shook him back to reality. "Godaime-sama wants to speak with you."

"Hn," He turned around and walked towards the Hokage Tower to see what the aging woman want to talk about.

**To be continued...**

_Author's Note:_ Yes, I still keep the Kouichi x Izumi pairing, they have potential (may do a fanfiction about them in the future). Otherwise, reviews and constructive criticisms accepted.


	4. Flicker

_Last time_... Kouji caught a brief glimpse of something Takuya unknowingly has, while Sasuke was summoned by Tsunade.

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_ and _Digimon Frontier_ are copyrighted to Kishimoto Masashi and Bandai/Toei, respectively.

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Flicker

Tsunade re-read the report on her desk, handed to her earlier by a patrolling shinobi, who had written what he had seen. Normally, such reports like these generally bored the still young looking Hokage out of her mind, if it weren't for the actual contents that surprisingly snatched her attention away from her beloved sake.

The sound of knocking has gotten her attention, looking up from the report to the door. "You may come in." She said, knowing very well who's outside.

Opening the door, Sasuke entered the office and close the door behind him. Walking over to stand in front of the Hokage's desk, the onyx-eyed shinobi sat down on the chair at her mutual offer.

"Why did you call for me?" Sasuke asked, staring at the aging Hokage in front of him.

"I've receive a report from our patrols and I'm sure it'll be of interest to you..." Tsunade began, getting the Uchiha's full attention.

-----

"_HA!_"

Kouji watched as Takuya finished off his technique, before he clapped. "That looks good, Takuya. Although, it seem rather rough to me..."

"Well, I haven't really perfected it yet, so I want another person's opinion beside my dojo master." The Chosen of Flame said, walking over to his fellow Chosen while stretching.

"I see..." Kouji murmured. Right now, they are alone in a clearing, having each other's as company; Takuya's his current crush and slowly budding love. In his mind, the Chosen of Light considered confessing right now, with no _interruption_.

"Hey, Takuya?"

"Yeah, Kouji?" Takuya looked at him with curious eyes. "What is it?"

This could be it, once he said it, he won't take it back. "Takuya, I..."

_Growl_

"Eheheh... Sorry about that, Kouji." Takuya sweat dropped. "I guess my training must've used up more energy then I thought."

"In other words, you're hungry." The pony-tailed boy dryly said, not very pleased to be interrupted by a growling stomach, even if the said stomach belongs to his crush.

"Yep...how about we have lunch together?" Takuya suggested, grinning, perking up Kouji's interest.

"Sure." He nodded, smiling a little. Having lunch with Takuya? How could he refuse? Perhaps, afterward, Kouji might find the right moment to say those little words.

Without a growling, hungry stomach to interrupt at the most inconvenient time, of course.

-----

At the moment, there's a mysterious phenomenon in the forest surrounding Konoha; specifically, the area in the general direction of where a major moment, which affected many people, happened in the past.

"Hey, Shino! What did your friends told you about this?" Kiba asked, looking over at his fellow shinobi. The Inuzuka, along with Akamaru, was paired up with the Bug-user for this investigation. Currently, they are standing at a safe distance away from the target of their investigation.

"They said they felt a disturbance from it." Shino said, looking at the thing from behind his shades.

The thing they're looking into is a strange thing. At times, it's obvious and sometimes it's invisible. When it's invisible, it forms a ripple whenever Kiba threw a rock at it, making the flying object vanish upon contact. That rock was never seen again.

In sort, it seems like something out of one of Kiba's science fiction novels. Not that the Inuzuka would admit, of course, but it's not important.

"Well, we might get something if Shikamaru's with us." Kiba muttered. "Well, better report what we've know, somewhat, to Godaime-sama." Before he and Akamaru can go, he stared at the ripple. Noticing it, Shino followed his gaze.

The ripple has just shown, if for a brief moment, a glimpse of something from the other side.

-----

"What's that up there?"

"What's what?"

"That rippling thing," A Digimon said, pointing up at the rippling effect, many metres above their head.

"I see nothing...OW! What hit me?" His friend grumbled, as the first Digimon picked up the thing that hit the second Digimon.

"It's a rock."

"_What?_"

-----

"A _what_?"

"A strange phenomenon," Tsunade said, seeing an expression from Sasuke that was rare nowadays. "The reason I told you this is because of in case you went into the forest and accidentally interact with it, before we know the full extent of it."

In simple terms, who knows what'll happen and don't want to lose precious resources before they get the full picture?

Sasuke frowned, the phenomenon the female Hokage described sound awfully familiar, but he need to see for himself and check his resources.

"As of now, Uchiha Sasuke, you are _not_ to go outside of Konoha, unless otherwise instructed." Tsunade ordered, almost uncannily on cue after the Uchiha's earlier thoughts, receiving a glare in return. The onyx-eyed shinobi rather not risk the trust he worked hard to rebuild with Naruto's help in him, so disobeying the Hokage is generally a big, fat '_No_'; with a capital letter for good measure, in the font known as 'italics'.

"Understood," He said, bowing and left when he was dismissed.

Watching him go, the younger-then-she-looks blonde sighed and summoned up Sakura. From what she knew about Sasuke, she needed someone to keep an eye on the Uchiha, in case of trouble.

-----

'_Come on, Bandana, you know you like Kit, just say so already!_' Kyuubi said, both amused and exasperated, as he watched Takuya and Kouji having lunch at a local take-out. Unlike his host, the demon fox already deducted the Chosen of Light's feelings for the Chosen of Flame. It's only a matter of if he ever going to confess in this lifetime.

If only he can talk to other people, Kyuubi would definitely poke fun at the one he called 'Bandana'. The demon fox also gave the other Chosen their own, unknowing nicknames. It kept him amused whenever he verbalise them in a sentence.

Outside of Takuya, both the said boy and his best friend are enjoying lunch together. To some people, they saw two friends hanging out, to the more extreme people, they see a guy having feelings for his unknowing friend. Of course, those said extreme people are just selected fanatics of a certain genre.

Back to the two best friends, it was mainly Takuya who talked animatedly for most of their conversations, but he did stop now and then to let Kouji have his say on whatever the subject is.

Though he's screwing up his courage to confess, Kouji find it easier to just enjoy the moment right now. Though he was worried that his confession maybe too late or Takuya would reject him, thinking about it now would affected their time here together. After lunch, perhaps, there'll be another opportunity.

-----

Sasuke stopped suddenly and frowned, he thought he had sensed something. It wasn't Sakura, which he knew the Godaime Hokage sent to keep an eye on him; no, it was something else entirely and it nearly made him growled, for some odd reason. Another odd thing is that the thought of Naruto suddenly came up in his mind after that odd feeling, giving him a smile unlike his famous foxy grin.

'If Naruto's alive, someone has better not touched him.' He thought, mentally growling at the thought of someone else taking what he thought would've been his if it weren't for circumstances.

Not that he'll admit it out loud, though.

Watching him, Sakura sweat dropped when she sensed the dangerous aura her former crush gave off. 'Whoever caused this, I wish them good luck.'

**To be continued...**

_Author's Note_: Sorry for the wait, everyone. Since it is summer vacation for me, along with Christmas, I got the time to finish this chapter that seems to stop and go at random points. As for how the series will meet, I'm sure smart readers will figured it out.

On another different, yet related note, I've put up a **poll** on my Author's Biography. So for those who want to vote for their pairing, vote there instead of by reviews, it's easier for me to keep tabs on the numbers. Whether it's for Sasuke or Kouji, _vote there, please._

Once again, reviews and criticisms are accepted.


End file.
